


Storms

by SinfulExistence



Category: Kill la Kill (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Aikurou knows he's a bad man, Angst and Feels, F/M, Mild Language, a little out of character, somewhat happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 03:00:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16255307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SinfulExistence/pseuds/SinfulExistence
Summary: Aikurou didn't ever consider the possibility of a roommate. Especially an uninvited, moody teenager that won't tell him WHY she's started living in his apartment. It just sort of... happened?





	Storms

**Author's Note:**

> This is some randomness that jumped in my head while watching KLK again. Story is a bit of an alternate take on events after the series. There are a ton of different translations for KLK, so forgive me if I use terms that are different from whichever version you watched. I watched two different subs myself, so my own choices may be confused at times. This ignores the existence of the episode 25 OVA, as I've yet to actually watch it. This is planned to only be a one-shot. 
> 
> This... honestly isn't my best work, I'll admit, but it was an idea that popped in my head and I felt the need to put down into words.

“Ryuuko-kun...”

Ryuuko's eyes swiveled toward the source of her name and the exasperated sigh that followed it, raising an eyebrow as she wondered what she'd done, “What?”

Aikurou raked his fingers through his hair and shook his head as he leaned against the door frame, motioning with his other hand toward her form as it lazed across his couch, “That was my last clean shirt.”

Ryuuko gave him an exaggerated roll of her eyes and pressed a button on the TV remote, sifting through channels, but not really watching them, “Maybe you should do laundry more than once a month then, Mikisugi.”

He walked over with a wry smile and plucked the remote from her hand, earning an indignant look that he pointedly ignored. He knew better anyway. Ryuuko was always too distracted to focus on something like the TV. She could fool a great many people, but not him. He poked her forehead before flopping on the couch by her head, resting his arms out across the back of the couch as he reclined, “I do it every week, actually. But, I only have so many clothes in my wardrobe and a certain teenager keeps stealing half of it, thus making my laundry get dirty twice as fast.”

His voice wasn't at all hostile or accusing, but she couldn't help but sit up and scowl at him, “Well, sorry!”

He chuckled as he watched her cross her arms in the overly-large button-up shirt and look away from him, reacting defensively as she always did when something made her feel guilty. He hardly ever got mad about it. He supposed it was one of the things about him that proved he was an adult. Despite her lashing out and, for a lack of a better term, tsundere behavior, he was always able to take it with a smile.

Especially now. Especially seeing her hurting and knowing that taking her deflected pain was really the only thing he was capable of doing to help her. She was a teenager, barely a wisp of a girl, and she'd been thrown into so much these last months. To come out of this learning you're not really all that human and to lose the person closest to you... he couldn't begin to fathom the pain that was gripping her.

His eyes moved to his roommate, letting out a light sigh through his nose.

Roommate.

He wasn't even sure when this arrangement began. To be honest, he'd never offered and she'd never asked. It just sort of happened. Like gravity pulled them so hard together that they were stuck now.

The first time she'd come to see him was shortly after he'd moved from that makeshift shelter near the water utilities to an actual apartment. She'd marched in like she owned the place and curled up on his couch, obviously irritated with something. He didn't ask, because it was Ryuuko, and she was usually quite vocal about things that made her angry.

So it was to his great astonishment that she didn't say anything to him about what was bothering her. Neither one spoke to the other. He was afraid to ask and set her off and she just simply didn't seem to want to offer up any sort of information. He thought perhaps it was just a teenager thing. Something set her off and she needed a place to hide for a bit. It would pass.

This hypothesis was blown right out the window when it happened again. And again. Whatever was upsetting her, it seemed that she was somehow more comfortable stewing about it in his home. This fact baffled him more than anything. He was her perverted teacher. The idiot who stripped and barely took anything seriously except his capacity as an officer of Nudist Beach, if even that. He'd teased her and led her around without telling her the truth, stripped her of her clothes once and used poor wording to make her misunderstand the situation. He liked to get in her personal space and make passes at her. Overall, not the best role model, especially considering those acts were done against a minor, someone eight years his junior.

So why she'd find comfort in his home, or around him in general, just confused the hell out of him. But, like clockwork, she'd show up at his door nearly every other day just to sit in silence in his company.

There was only one time he saw her break down. One time that she couldn't take anymore and the truth came spilling out. He remembered it vividly...

Aikurou sighed as he came home from work, his head hurting him something fierce. At least work was far less stressful these days. Teaching the history of humanity and Life Fibers was a far cry easier than fighting said Life Fibers. Still, the meeting after school had taken longer than he'd like and a storm had rolled in besides. Now it was sunset, but the raging storm turned the sky pitch black as if it were the middle of the night.

He frowned when he went to unlock his door, only to find it already unlocked. Was Ryuuko there? Alone? He remembered from a few nights past that she wasn't particularly fond of thunderstorms and sighed as he pushed his way in with quick steps. The least he could do was be there for her. He didn't see her in the living room though, which gave him pause. He idly wondered if he was robbed, though with the eternal mess the place was in, it would be hard to tell if he was.

He noticed his bedroom door was cracked and made his way to the door. It was dark in the apartment, but he didn't turn any lights on, not wanting to draw attention to himself yet. He peeked in his door to find a huddled mass of Ryuuko on his bed, her back to the window with her legs hugged close to her body, arms wrapped around her legs. Even over the sound of the rain hitting the window he could hear sniffling from her. She was crying...? Ryuuko Matoi was crying?

He pushed into the room, but paused in the doorway when he really got a look at her, lightning temporarily illuminating the room.

She wasn't dressed.

He supposed she technically was. She was in what looked to be her underwear and one of his over-sized shirts, her own clothes strewn about the floor.

He wasn't entirely sure how to proceed at this point. There was some kind of line he'd crossed just looking at her this vulnerable. Not even her state of undress, considering he'd seen her naked a number of times, but the whole state of her. How she was dressed, the tears on her face, the pain in her eyes she wasn't bothering to conceal. He was aware she was just a girl, but she'd shrugged off so many things in their time together that he'd eventually dismissed the idea of her having things like emotional weakness. He'd seen her angry. Many times. Even when she was sad she was angry. He'd never seen her like this.

He considered turning on the light, but figured if she'd wanted it on, she wouldn't have kept herself in the dark like this. He watched another bolt of lightning lance through the sky and watched her body jolt at the following roll of thunder, finally pushing his body to move toward her.

He sat on the edge of his bed and looked down at her with cautious eyes, “Ryuuko-kun?” He hesitated a bit. It was pretty much an unspoken rule by now that they didn't talk about it. Then again, this sort of circumstance had never come up. He reached out and ruffled her hair a bit, trying to keep some of his usual carefree voice, “I wasn't aware you were interested in becoming a Nudist, too.” Smooth. He was expecting some sort of retaliation, hoping for it really. So when more tears spilled out of the blue eyes that were looking up at him with so much hurt, he couldn't help but feel lost and panicked. Obviously he was just making things worse at this point, but this wasn’t really his area of expertise.

He pulled his hand away abruptly, only to grunt from the impact of her small body tackling his torso. It was a testament to his own strength that he remained sitting up against a tackle from a life-fiber being, blinking down at the girl that was latched to him. He wasn't sure it was wise to have her pressed to him like that, half-naked and with him soaking wet from the rain, but when she started sobbing into his chest he found his will to remove her diminished considerably.

Letting out a sigh, he turned his body more to face her, pulling one of his legs up onto the bed and letting the other hang off the edge. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to sit sideways in his lap, resting his chin on the top of her head and stroking her hair. He shushed her gently, but otherwise said nothing, letting her cry out whatever it was that put her in this state. He'd known she was upset about something, but to hold it in this long....

It took only a few minutes for the dam to burst and suddenly she was telling him everything. In that soft but sob-filled voice, she told him of her troubles. Of the pain of wearing clothes, knowing they weren't Senketsu. They would never be Senketsu. She couldn't stand the thought of owning clothes that weren't him. That's why she finally couldn't take it and got in his shirt. Somehow it wasn't as painful to borrow someone else's clothes. But, owning her own felt like a betrayal, despite her promise to Senketsu that she'd find clothes cuter than he'd ever be.

She tried hard to be cheerful around Mako and Satsuki. They'd take her on dates and get her cute clothes, but they all ended up in her closet, only pulled out when she absolutely had to keep up appearances for her best friend and sister. She felt like she was drifting from them. Neither of them had what she had with Senketsu. They didn't understand the pure intimacy of wearing another being. Sharing their thoughts and emotions. Becoming one and rushing into battle together with full confidence in the other. A friend, a brother, a father, a lover... none of those titles could apply to Senketsu, because he'd been so much more than any of those things. He'd been a _part_ of her. When he'd burned in the atmosphere that day, it felt like a part of her had been stripped away. Like she was the one burning.

She couldn't bear to live with her sister, like Satsuki wanted. Besides the loneliness she felt from the absence of Senketsu, she just couldn't get used to rich living. It felt foreign and rather uncomfortable.

As much as it shamed her, she couldn't bring herself to live with Mako, either. She was living with Mako officially at the moment, but she constantly found herself running away to Aikurou's apartment. Mako was just so... happy. A part of her was jealous that Mako could adapt so well to the new world. That she could be so happy when Ryuuko had lost so much. She also didn't want her own sadness to bring Mako down.

“With you...” Ryuuko whispered, “...you never asked anything. You never expected anything. You didn't try to get me to wear new clothes or get used to a new lifestyle. You just let me exist in your space. That's all I want right now, is to exist as just me. Even if the current me isn't healthy. Even if the current me might hurt others if they knew. I'm just not ready to be a different Ryuuko yet...”

He surprised her by tightening his hold around her, his body hunching a bit as if to envelope her in himself. Of course she wanted to be herself, why wouldn't she? She was wrong, though. He knew that if she would just talk to Satsuki and Mako about it, while they might not be able to fully empathize, they would never hold it against her. He didn't think they'd really try to force a change in her if they new exactly how their efforts were affecting her.

Still, in her state, being told she was wrong was probably the worst possible thing. To be honest, if she needed to repair the broken parts of herself, he would let her do so. If she needed to invade his space to do it, he'd let her. Because a part of him felt responsible. In the beginning, it was he who led her to Senketsu in the first place. When she was confused and unable to utilize her kamui properly, he was the one that helped her learn instead of letting her pull out of the situation. He'd enabled her thirst for revenge and gotten her caught up in a fight that just brought her pain. So he’d be her enabler, until she was ready to move on.

From that day on, she didn't shed a tear. She didn't talk to him about her problems. She pretended as if that night, crying in his arms, had never happened. But, something in their world shifted after that. That night had been the first of many that had led to her sleeping at his place. Before he knew it, he was keeping some of her things there and she was sleeping at his home every night. Soon, she was there any time she wasn't at school or her sister and Mako weren't dragging her around for a girls' day out.

He started to notice that his apartment would occasionally get cleaner. She'd never admit to it and he'd never call her out on it. He supposed it was her trying to pull her weight, seeing as she had basically muscled her way in as his roommate. Not that it was a term either of them would be caught dead using. Neither admitted to what they were doing as “living together”.

Aikurou had called Satsuki about the incident after the first night. As much as it killed him to betray Ryuuko's confidence, he wasn't her guardian. In a strange way, Satsuki was the closest she had to one.

Satsuki was very displeased with their living arrangements, but was letting it carry on because she trusted him to a degree. He'd helped in ridding the world of Life Fibers and, as much of a stripper and pervert as he was, she didn't think he'd actually try anything against her sister. She was disappointed that Ryuuko felt she couldn't trust Satsuki enough to tell her about what was hurting her, but couldn't really hold it against her. She couldn't understand the girl's troubles. Her “relationship” with Junketsu was a parasitic one at best. It was a battle, a constant struggle to stay in control. It wasn't one she could say she was sad to be rid of. But, Senketsu was different. She could feel it the moment she put him on. She could see it in how Ryuuko and Senketsu interacted. It made her a bit jealous, but seeing how much it hurt Ryuuko now, she was a bit glad her and Junketsu hadn't been that way. Still, she'd have taken Ryuuko's place in a heartbeat if it would cure her sister's broken heart.

So despite her irritation with Ryuuko living in a grown man's house, she left it alone. She didn't call Ryuuko out on it, though she _did_ arrange more outings than usual on the weekends for Ryuuko, Mako, herself, and sometimes Nonon when the girl wasn't busy. It helped that Aikurou got in the habit of calling her occasionally to give her updates on Ryuuko's well-being. Her actual well-being and not the false front she put up to appease her and Mako.

He shook from his thoughts and sighed again. There was no school that day, but the teachers were being called in for a meeting. And, his last shirt was currently on a 17-year-old girl that he couldn't just strip it off of. Well, he most certainly could. He'd stripped her down before. However, the recent intimacy of their living arrangements made him a bit self-conscious about his actions toward her.

He supposed that was a bullshit reason. It only slightly covered what the real issue was. The real issue was that he was confused about his feelings for the young girl as of late, both emotionally and regarding physical needs. It was so easy to tease her before because, frankly, he had no actual feelings of love or arousal for her. He saw her as a young girl, a sister even. Someone to tease, but certainly not to get serious about.

Lately, though, with them living in such close proximity and interacting with each other day after day, it was hard to remind himself of these things. Of the age difference. Of the fact that he was in no way good for her. He was immature still in some ways and had poor ways of handling certain situations. He was a frequent smoker and while she never outwardly complained, he found himself smoking out on the balcony lately so she wasn't exposed to it. Overall, he'd been a poor adult figure in her life. He shuddered to think how he'd mess her up further if he tried for anything closer than that.

He was jerked from his thoughts again when his vision went white. It look him a moment to realize that the reason was the white button-up shirt being held in his line of vision. Ryuuko sat on the couch in her blue-and-white striped undergarments, holding his shirt out to him with a huff, “Geez, don't go spacing out like that. If you want the shirt that bad, just take it. I'll find another one.”

He'd have found her lack of shame in baring her body to him amusing if not for the horrible timing involved. He took the shirt from her and gave her a roguish grin, slipping his shirt on, “Or you could find no shirt at all. It's never too late to be a Nudist.” He wanted to hit himself in the head for how forced that sounded and even Ryuuko seemed like she had come to a screeching halt somewhere between outrage and confusion. She barely hesitated a second before throwing a couch cushion at him, which he dodged gratefully and used as an excuse to leave the room and duck into his bedroom. He buttoned up his shirt and inwardly cursed himself, putting on his tie hastily before heading for the door, “Alright, the meeting should only be a few hours. There's cup ramen in the pantry. I'll bring something back for dinner.”

Ryuuko gave him a lazy wave and a “yeah yeah” at his mothering as she lounged on the couch again, TV remote back in hand. He sighed in relief that things seemed normal and slipped his shoes on as he disappeared out the door.

The day had been hell. Satsuki had been at the meeting and his awkwardness wasn't lost on her, which had her looking at him in a way that felt as if she could read his every thought. His every thought was something she definitely didn't need to know, especially with the smell of Ryuuko wafting off his shirt and into his nose constantly. He'd let himself get way too distracted. It was unlike him. He was used to hiding his emotions. It was what made him an effective spy, though to be fair, Satsuki had seen right through him the first time.

Of course, it had to rain on the way home, so the food he'd brought was soaked by the time he got in the door. He _really_ needed to invest in another car. He missed his Naked Shooting Star.

He supposed he would just make them something. There wasn't a lot, but he could figure something out. He bit back a sigh when he opened his door to a dark apartment. With a foreboding sense of deja vu, he put the soaking wet food in the trash and padded over silently to his door. He gave a relieved sigh when he heard the shower running from inside his bathroom. Pushing his way into the room more, he crossed to his dresser and grabbed the carton of cigarettes from the top, drawing one out and lighting it. It had been a while since he smoked in his own room. She was in the shower, though, and the storm made the balcony a no-go, so he'd have to get his fix before she was done.

Which was all too soon. He was too fixed in his own thoughts to hear the water shut off and only realized she was done with her shower when the door squeaked open and she came out of the bathroom in another one of his shirts, toweling her hair dry. He noted a pile of clean laundry on his bedside table. She must have done a load while he was gone. Thoughtful of her.

She blinked at him in surprise to find him just smoking by his dresser in the dark, though her eyes darted past him to the rain in understanding. She finished toweling her hair off and hung the towel off a chair, looking back at him with a strange look on her face. He followed her gaze to the cigarette and plucked it from his lips, holding it toward the ashtray, “Sorry, I'll put it out.”

She shook her head, “No, it's okay.” She looked like she was wrestling with the idea of being honest or holding something in. He noticed her eyes were a bit red and wondered if she'd been crying again. She spoke up again, “Honestly, the smell is kind of comforting.”

He had to raise an eyebrow at that. He couldn't understand what she'd find comforting about the smell at all. Most people with a brain hated it.

He couldn’t know that it was comforting for her, though, simply because it was a smell she associated with him and, somehow, Aikurou Mikisugi was someone she'd learned to associate with comfort. It also reminded her that he was, indeed, an adult. She wasn't sure about the significance of that reminder, only that she found it to be something she preferred.

She shrugged and walked over to him, taking the cigarette from his fingers and holding up to her face, sniffing but thankfully not actually trying to take a drag of it herself. His fingers twitched and he was a second away from snatching it back from her, only to lock up when he felt her press it back to his lips, her fingers brushing them gently with the motion. He sucked in a drag lightly on impulse as she spoke, “I guess I was just curious why you like these so much.”

He felt her pull it from his lips a bit, missing the warmth of her touch but taking the opportunity to release the smoke from his lips before speaking, “It's not really something I _like_... It's more like a need, I suppose. My body craves it.”

“Because it's addictive.” Her words hung in the air somewhere between question and statement as she brought the thing back to his lips for another dose of his fix. He was finding that her touch, even one as small as her fingers on his lips, was nearly as addictive as the substance he was using. He felt disappointment when she pulled away again for him to respond, another question on her lips, “What does it taste like?”

Alarm bells were going off vaguely in the back of his mind. Her personality was off a bit. She was being overly talkative again and none of it with her usual attitude. Her eyes looked like she'd been crying before or possibly in her shower. She was also far too close to him for comfort. Even with the foot or so of distance between them, he could nearly feel the heat radiating off of her.

Something was wrong and she wasn't telling him. He knew better than to pry, but things were advancing in a direction he was unsure of. Furthermore, he was an adult and should be responsible, but he was also a man with needs and Ryuuko was doing a damn-good job reminding him of those needs.

He decided the best way for distance to be achieved would be his usual antics. He pulled the cigarette from her fingers and took a last drag of it before putting it out in the ashtray and leveling her with a grin, “If you're so curious, Ryuuko-kun, we could kiss. You'd certainly taste it then.”

Bracing for impact, he was left speechless when she stepped in closer to him and looked up into his eyes, “Okay.”

What. the. hell?

It had to be a bluff. There was no way. Every time he'd make passes at her, it usually resulted in her throwing a punch at him or some miscellaneous object in the apartment at him. She didn't just say “okay” to these things.

His conscience battled with his stupid hormones as he decided to call her bluff, one of his hands falling on her shoulder to pull her in close, his other hand grasping her chin softly to tip her face up closer to his. He descended on her a bit until their lips were very close, the smirk still on his as he brushed his thumb along her jawline, “Are you sure, Ryuuko-kun? If you want to back out, now is y--”

He didn't get to finish his sentence as she pushed up on her toes and pressed her lips against his.

Shit.

He felt himself warring between the part of him that wanted to be the adult and pull away and the part of him that wanted to give in and take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kiss the girl he wanted and couldn't have.

Well... he _had_ always said that he was the worst kind of role model for her.

He slid his hand from her jaw to bury his fingers in her hair, cupping the back of her head as he leaned down more into the kiss. His lips moved against hers, nipping and kissing at her upper and lower lip individually before he coaxed them apart with his tongue. He half expected resistance still at this point, but was given none. She seemed to be surrendering herself to the kiss rather readily, which both pleased and worried him. His tongue caressed and coaxed at her own, his control nearly breaking when a light moan sounded in her throat. He was violently struck with the urge to throw her on his bed and make her give him more of those sounds.

The part of his brain that was still sane, however, told him to back out now while he could. He reluctantly pulled away from the kiss, trying to ignore the slight lustful glaze to her eyes or how thoroughly kissed her lips looked now.

She tipped her head, her fingers touching her lips, “Bitter... but kinda sweet, in a way..."

This girl was one hundred percent going to be the death of him.

He schooled his breathing and tried to give her a serious look, "Ryuuko-kun, what happened?" It was obvious that something happened while he was gone. He'd indulged her long enough. Well, maybe himself as well. Either way, she needed to come clean about this.

He could tell by her expression that he'd crossed one of those invisible lines again. Probably the "don't ask, don't tell" line, but he didn't give a shit at this point. The fact that she wasn't running out the door was a good sign, but the indignant anger and determined expression on her face was not.

"Kiss me again and I'll tell you."

What the hell was with this girl today? He inwardly groaned. As much as he'd love nothing more than to taste her again, there was something wrong with her. While he was likely not the best adult in the world, the last thing he wanted to do was take advantage of her weakness.

She tugged him out of his head by his tie, drawing his attention to her again. She got up on her toes, trying to steal his lips. He let out something of a growl, the noise bringing her up short, and grabbed her chin, looking into her eyes with an intensity that had her holding her breath, "You better tell me." His lips crashed against her again, drawing another tempting moan from her throat. The last kiss was slow and exploratory, but this was more rough, more raw. Tongues clashed, teeth clicked together, but neither of them seemed to care. It was his frustration coming out and whatever the hell was up with her at the moment.

He was so focused on her that he didn't notice at first that she was moving them. By the time he noticed, her knees were hitting the back of his bed and she was trying to pull him into it with her, trying to pull him on top of her.

Was she trying to seduce him? What on earth was possessing her to do this? Ryuuko Matoi didn't seduce. If anything, he was the one to try to seduce her, even if his initial passes at her had only been jokes. Still, she'd responded to them violently most of the time, seeming to show no interest in him whatsoever. So what was all this? Was he an escape? Whatever the reason, he was starting to feel real annoyance now. He had no problems allowing her to stay where she felt comfortable while she coped with her losses, but you didn't just seduce a grown man in his home. It was highly dangerous. Or did she not see him as a man? Not see the threat he posed when she left herself so vulnerable?

His eyes narrowed and rather than resist her pull, he suddenly lunged forward, boxing her in against the bed under him. Their kiss broke apart and she looked up at him in surprise as he settled over her, one of his legs resting between hers against the bed. He pressed her down into the mattress a bit with his weight, his lips seeking hers again. She seemed to finally realize the sort of position she was in and was denying him entry, but he simply grabbed her hair in one of his hands, pulling her head back enough to loosen her jaw as she gasped in surprise. He took advantage and plundered her mouth, ignoring her hands as they pushed on his shoulders and arms, trying to get him off her. She didn't seem quite angry or desperate enough to hurt him yet, but at least her struggling showed him that hopefully the lesson he was trying to impress upon her had been learned. He pulled away from her lips again and made to sit up, but her arms looped around his neck, stopping his exit.

He stayed poised over her, his eyes narrowing in genuine anger at her, "Ryuuko-ku--"

"I'm sorry," she interrupted quickly, gruffly but not altogether angry, "Look, I'm just new to this and--"

"New to this?" his voice was low and calm, but there was a dangerous edge to it that made Ryuuko feel that maybe she'd pushed him too far this time. Aikurou squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as if it would help calm him down. It didn't. He looked down at her, his expression unreadable, "And what exactly do you think is going on here, Ryuuko-kun?"

Ryuuko gave a moment's hesitation, then murmured, "Seducing you?"

Aikurou didn't know whether he wanted to laugh, cry, or throw something. Or maybe yell _no fucking shit_ right in her face. He settled on raising an eyebrow, "You don't say." The grimace on her face showed she at least picked up on his sarcasm. He sighed and tried to sit up again, but her hold on him was pretty persistent. He gave up and leveled her with a look, " _Why_ are you trying to seduce me?" At the rebellious look on her face, he spoke again, "And remember, you said you'd tell me if I kissed you. So spill."

She looked a bit frustrated at him remembering when she'd so hoped that a seduction attempt would make him forget. He watched the gears turn in her head for a moment before she sighed, her eyes averting to the side, "I wanted to forget things. Everyone is kinda pairing off and leaving me out. Gamagoori and Mako, Nonon and Inumuta.... hell, even my sister has been seeing Iori lately. Nonon said that sex was a good way to forget your troubles and believe me, I've tried every other damn thing I can think of, so...."

Aikurou idly wondered if maybe this was a prank or a test. He also wondered if Satsuki would be terribly angry if he killed that band brat in cold blood for putting the idea in Ryuuko's head. Probably, but it might be worth it.

He sighed, at least appreciating her usual candor, even if it was ridiculous. He muttered, "So instead of someone your own age, you decided to seduce a grown-ass man?" He wanted to kick himself after the words left him, unable to believe that those were the words he decided to focus on, instead of telling her that relying on sex as an outlet for a shitty life was not a good option as a teenager.

Ryuuko gave a huff, "And since when are you a grown-ass man?"

The question was probably meant more as a stab at his sometimes immature nature, but right then, it really wasn't the right set of words to use. He had to bite back the urge to lash out, instead speaking in that same low but dangerous voice, "You honestly have no clue how much of a man I am." He sighed and balanced on one hand as his other raked through his hair in frustration, "You have no clue what I've had to put up with. I've let you have your way because I know you're hurting. But understand this from my point of view. You prance around here, barely dressed and in _my_ clothes, in _my_ shower... You're almost of age and you're attractive as hell and you just flaunt your body in front of me. And believe me, Ryuuko-kun, all my years in Nudist Beach don't mean that I have an immunity to the female form. Far from it."

His gaze was nearly predatory and she at least had the good sense to look a little intimidated, "I'm a horrible man. You have no clue how many fights I've fought. How many people I've hurt. I smoke and drink. I stripped you down and threw you out into that big fight that you should have had nothing to do with and tore your heart to pieces. The fact that you live with me, and trust me, baffles me. To be honest, our living arrangement should not have been allowed to begin with. I should barely be around you, much less someone you try to have sex with."

Ryuuko seemed to hit some sort of limit, anger rising up in her so sharply that her eyes welled up with tears, "It _has_ to be you. _You're_ the one that doesn't get it!" She dug her fingers into his hair, mostly out of want to do it to her own hair, but afraid to let him go, "You think you threw me in that fight!? I was in that fight from the very beginning! From the moment my dad warned me that taking that scissor blade would lead me down a path of pain! _I chose it!_ I wanted to know why he died!"

Aikurou reeled a bit. He had no idea that sort of exchange had happened between father and daughter in his last moments. Ryuuko took advantage of the silence, her words tumbling out, "You're the only one I can be with around here. Everyone is either happily moving on with their own life or hooking up with someone else. They feel like completely different people. The only person left I was even remotely close to during that battle that still feels like the person I've known since the beginning is _you_. I feel like... like Senketsu's death changed the world and its people. It's not all bad, but it's too bright for me right now. A world without Senketsu isn't what I wanted. Right now, you're the only one that anchors me here, that makes me feel like this world is one I can be in!"

"You don't even know me. You only know the Nudist Beach commander I wanted you to see," his voice was barely above a whisper, trying to sound harsh but just coming out almost broken-sounding. It was mostly the truth, but it was also the part of him that was in denial about her confession. The fact that he could be less to blame about her place in this war than he thought he was. The fact that he seemed to have such an important role in her life. Not just as an escape, but as an anchor to a life that otherwise confused and terrified her with its differences. It shouldn't have been him. She deserved someone better than him to be that anchor.

Underneath him, Ryuuko squirmed and looked to the side, "I want to learn. Maybe by learning about you, I might learn things about myself, too."

He let out a ragged sigh. God, but this was a terrible idea. There was no way he could agree to this. Except, deep down, he was still a terrible, selfish person. He shook his head and pried her eyes from his neck firmly, sitting up and pulling her with him, "Look, your birthday is in five months, right? You'll be of age then. We'll continue... whatever this is, until then. Once you're of age, if you decide you want something more out of this, maybe we can explore it." He sighed and rubbed a hand down his face, "Until then, please refrain from seducing me."

He definitely didn't expect the laugh that bubbled up from Ryuuko at his words. He looked down at her, puzzled, and she shook her head, "S-Sorry, didn't mean to laugh. Just, usually aren't you the one seducing me? Kinda weird to hear those words out of your mouth."

Despite himself, he gave her a bit of a grin, "Yeah, pretty weird."

He stood up and straightened out his shirt, taking off his tie and throwing it on his dresser, "Alright, I'm gonna make dinner, so..." Feeling awkward and seeing that she was resolutely not looking at him with the same level of awkward radiating off her, he shrugged and walked out of the room to cook.

He started throwing some stuff together for soup, figuring it was appropriate for a rainy day.

Aikurou was unsure what he'd just started. They were definitely acknowledging at this point that they lived together. They were also, he guessed, in a sort of relationship now? Obviously one with boundaries, but a relationship nonetheless. He was still trying to sort out in his head if what she said even counted as a confession and if what he said counted as asking her to be his girlfriend.

As long as the boundaries stayed in place everything would be fine. He wouldn't be a pedophile and she wouldn't be defiled. If she had the sense he believed she had, in those five months, she'd see him for what he really was and decide she wanted nothing to do with him. And if not, well, at least he'd feel less bad about ravaging her body if she was of-age when he did it. Hopefully now that he'd expressed to her the dangerous of her walking around half-naked, maybe she'd present him with less of a temptation.

"Mikisugi... are you sure we can't have sex?"

This was going to be a long five months.


End file.
